Trees, Seek’s, and Dairy Free Treats.

So first off, I am only writing posts once a week now. I have made a commitment to make FHE lessons, so those will be included. Ellie loves learning to cook, and is now starting to include Will in some of her cooking- so we will continue to post her recipes and videos. I hope to write about our life, and maybe include some of my musical journey in there as well. And don’t forget, one of the main reasons I created this blog was to document our Homeschooling so I could continue to build upon it, and use it for Will as well.

Thanksgiving Preschool

For this week… We did some Thanksgiving Schooling. As well as Ellie learned some colors in Spanish!!

Will is learning his colors and shapes, and we have started introducing him to his name!

Popcorn… and a movie?

Ellie made us Popcorn! And we included a whole list of dairy free toppings, and if you aren’t dairy free… SMACK ON THAT BUTTER!!! Also, we finished Gilligan’s Island season 2. Anyone that knows where to find season 3… let us fans know.

Allergies are NOT The Bees Knees- Neither are Intolerances

Which brings us to Will… William is our 19 month son. He has had some GI issues and rashes, and we couldn’t figure out why. I had a suspicion It was dairy related… IBS runs in my family. So we cut out dairy and miraculously… he was feeling better. Less diaper rashes, He would get them so bad it looked like a burn!! His face was clearing up again, he always had red cheeks. He was eating more again, although hard for us to find what to feed the kids who’s favorite snacks are cheese and yogurt.

It has been a learning experience for SURE, but if he is feeling better, smelling better, and acting better? It is a sacrifice well worth it. Which brings us to the next part of the journey… We needed to get him an Allergy test to figure out what was going on. And why, being dairy free was he still having issues some days? Ugh so much to figure out! Come to find out, my mom brain didn’t think to check our bread (the thing he ate more than cheese or yogurt was toast), oats and flour. See, we buy bulk oats and flour at WinCo. Cheaper. Buuuut…. the bread “may contain” milk, and the oats and flour are processed on equipment that milk is processed on. So, fine. Back to square 1! We found out he can’t have anything that “may contain” dairy or is processed on the same equipment. Ok Ok, we can do that. Buying packaged oats and flour again, switching brands of bread. Phew. We can do this.

Through this journey we have also found that WinCo diapers give him welts, and apple juice gives him the same problem that dairy does. We are continually learning!! But then we FINALLY got an allergy appt!! Oh how we waited for this. They tested him, and the dairy allergy was negative! YES!! But the allergist also said, do not give him any dairy because of his reactions. So, here we are, knowing he isn’t allergic, but he is very very sensitive. Emotionally and Intestinally! HA! We discussed his sister’s medical history, she had to get her tonsils out when she was 2, having a lot of the same problems as Will, but nearly as bad. So we never thought she had allergies. We were advised to keep him dairy free until his tonsils come out, and then to try dairy again!! How amazing would It be if he could have dairy again sooner rather than later. Amazing!!!

Neither my husband or I have had to get them out, so who knows why they do!! Being dairy free has been hard, and a big learning process. We are a sharing family, so it has been so hard to not share all of my food with him!! He loves coconut oil, No PHO Margarine (just made with oil), Duncan Hines brand cake mix, Almond milk, eggs, toast, fruits and vegetables, chicken and turkey and ham, homemade chocolate milk, chocolate almond milk… and a lot of dairy free substitutes. IT is amazing how many things have dairy in them, but it is amazing some things that don’t. A lot of things he doesn’t have to give up.

Thanks for reading our spiel here, and now you will know why we may refuse Goldfish. 😉